Devices for setting the divergence and/or convergence of a light beam having at least one optical component that serves to influence the divergence and/or convergence of the light beam and having a positioning device for the component are known from actual practice and exist in different embodiments. For instance, in order to set the divergence and/or convergence of a light beam in a microscope, motor-driven mechanical devices are employed to set the position of optical components.
A problematic aspect of the prior-art devices for setting the divergence and/or convergence of a light beam is that the motor-driven mechanical adjustment devices have a regulating speed that is much too slow for many applications. In other words, the optical component cannot be positioned as quickly as would be necessary for the application in question. Moreover, with the known devices, undesired vibrations often occur while the component is being positioned. This means that specimens that are sensitive to vibration often cannot be examined at all.